Countless numbers of individuals ski, skateboard, snowboard, or otherwise utilize some form of board for recreation, exercise, or travel. When it is actually being used, the board is an integral part of the individual's activity. When it is not being used, however, the board often becomes a burden. For example, when a person goes to the mountains, that person's trip from the car to the lodge or lift is considerably more difficult with skis or a snowboard in hand than it would have been without. Similarly, when a skateboarder enters an area where skateboarding is not allowed, for instance a mall, getting around and conducting business is difficult with a loose board.
Consequently, ski bags and snowboard bags have been designed with straps. Backpacks have been used to hold small boards, or have been modified to incorporate rings, straps, or mesh to hold equipment to the outside surface. Clips have been designed to hold skis together while at the same time having a loop or strap to throw over a shoulder. Special carriers have even been invented for carrying a skateboard over one or both shoulders, particularly, U.S. Pat. No. 5,492,254 to Challoner et al., and U.S. Pat. No. 5,092,506 to Bolduc. These devices have various shortcomings.
Ski and snowboard bags and ski clips successfully carry the equipment but, once at the mountain, become a burden of their own. Placing equipment in a backpack increases the risk that valuables also contained in the pack will be lost every time the board is inserted or removed. The patented skateboard carriers do not carry anything substantial other than the skateboard itself and, like the first bags discussed, become baggage when the board is in use. Most importantly, none of the above devices allows for quick and easy removal of the board when desired for use. Instead, each of them must first be removed, the zipper, straps, clips or other fasteners manipulated by hand, and then the device put back on (or worse yet, stored somewhere) before the board can be ridden.
A need therefore exists for an improved carrier for recreational boards.